MANILA— At the Villamor air base in Manila Tuesday, US marines scrambled to load C-130 military transport planes headed toward Tacloban with bales of rice, bottled water and canned goods – much of it sourced from civilian donations to the Philippines’ major television networks.

AP

Personnel of the Philippines Army 51st engineer corps load water for victims of Typhoon Haiyan at Villamor Air Force Base in Manila on Nov. 11.

Typhoon Haiyan fractured logistics networks in dozens of provinces after barreling through on Friday, leaving Tacloban – one of the worst affected areas – and its swelling population of refugees increasingly dependent on whatever supplies can be brought in by military aircraft, as well as by boat or road.

The C-130 flight also carried several dozen Filipino soldiers. Since Sunday the national government has stepped up efforts to restore order to areas around Tacloban that have been hit by widespread looting in the aftermath of the typhoon.

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Around 80 US Marines have come in from Okinawa, Japan, to provide additional support, and Captain Cassandra Gesecki said on Tuesday that he and his team stand ready to do “whatever we are asked” to help the relief effort.

In a sign that the effort is beginning to gain some traction, scores of survivors crammed onto a Philippine Air Force C-130 aircraft in Tacloban Tuesday and set off for Villamor. When they arrived at the air base here they were assessed by medical staff.

Many of the survivors described scenes of utter devastation in Tacloban, one of the busiest commercial centers if the central Philippines. Winnie Villamarga, 32, said she and her relatives managed to survive the storm by lashing themselves together with rope.

“It was terrible, the worst I’ve ever seen and we get a lot of storms here,” she said, holding one of her twin nephews for comfort. “There is nothing left of our home, only a couple of posts.”

AP

A survivor from Tacloban, which was devastated by Typhoon Haiyan gestures while sitting on the ground after disembarking a Philippine Air Force C-130 aircraft at the Villamor air base in Manila on Nov. 12. See more images.

Many people on the relief flight are now going to live with relatives in Manila or its suburbs. Ms. Villamarga says she will stay with a sister in nearby Paranaque, expressing relief to be in a place where there was more certainty.

“The flight came just in time,” she said. “We had prepared food but it ran out yesterday, and we were getting very worried about what would happen next.”

Philippine agencies and international relief organizations have been battling huge logistical difficulties in getting aid to survivors as recriminations begin over whether local authorities in the Tacloban area had adequately prepared for the storm.

During a televised briefing at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council on Sunday, President Benigno Aquino II said while most officials had prepared for the coming storm, those who appeared not to be would “have to explain.”

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